The Grit And Its Downside
In a competitive or rather a world of senseless competition, based on the idea of the “Survival of the Fittest,” “Grit” seems to have become today’s buzzword, especially in this age of internet and social media that is giving ever more powerful impetus to the already rampant individualism and consumerism. We frequently hear these words in meetings, in the news, podcasts, in TED talks, and tossed around in many conversations. Strengthening this trait or characteristic, we are told, is a sure recipe to boost one’s sense of achievement and honour.
There are lots of inspirational quotes, posters and internet memes that tout messages such as, “Champions never quit,” or “Quitting lasts forever.”
However, ironically, the notoriously popular term is closely associated to another notoriously popular term “The American Dream.” And we can even say that latter became the main factor behind the “Grit and Success” mindset rapidly prevailing to every nook and cranny of the world.
Books have been written on the topic and popular cultural products have been produced centered around the idea of the protagonist pursuing or living their (American) dreams. American and pro American Politicians use the concept in their campaigns, promising to revive it for all under the so-called democratic culture.
However, before looking at the upside or downside of the term “Grit,”it would be insightful to know or discover the concept as to what does it actually denote and then why it has a downside too.
Having and grit and/or perseverance, usually, means that you have the ability to continue working on something (your dream or your most cherished goal in life), even if it becomes tough and challenging or takes a lot of time, efforts and energy to complete. In other words, to persist even after the setbacks and sustain your passions over really disappointingly long periods of time. Moreover, it is also said or told to us that “Grit is that ‘extra something’ that separates the most successful people from the rest or ordinary. However, it may also be pointed out that there is no universal definition of success and it means different things to different people. But for the sake of convenience, we may define it in conventional sense of being rich, famous, and accepted. Thus it’s the passion, perseverance, and stamina that we must channel in order to stick with our dreams (mostly in the sense of American dream pursuing something you are passionate about, especially making money doing it, and living your life the way you want to live it or more simply the belief that through hard work and perseverance, anyone can rise “from rags to riches” like a phoenix rises from the ashes under the shining sun of American democratic ideals promising level playing field to all the aspirants) until they become a reality or (“Nightmare?”)
However, there is a serious problem with becoming over ambitious. As some pundits point out, though grit can get you to stick to hard things that are worthwhile, grit can also get you to stick to hard things that just aren’t worth sticking to. And as a result you can also end up in a mental asylum.
Moreover, it is the fear of wasting what we’ve already put into something that forces us to invest more in a cause that’s no longer worthwhile, suggests economist Richard Thaler (also a Nobel Prize for his research in behavioral economics).
Regardless, the main thrust of this piece of writing (or blog as you might like to call it) is that grit is positive quality (if you are Martin Luther King or Archibald Macleish, dreaming about the collective liberation/prosperity of all the humanity and freedom of mankind and not just of Americans or their client states) but it becomes an undesirable, unproductive, or even destructive trait if you are pursuing a cause (mostly individualistic, selfish, or egoisitc) that is not even worth pursuing in the first place. Before going to illustrate the point further, it would prove insightful to know the origins of the term. According to Paige Gray (Visiting Associate Professor, Fort Lewis College) the term originated as American slang in the early 19th century. It’s easy to see its kinship to the other definition of grit: “minute particles of stone or sand, as produced by attrition or disintegration.”
She further explains that It’s come to represent a refusal to give up, no matter the odds — a refusal to wash away, break down or completely dissolve.
And as has been pointed above, it is an essential trait for anyone who want their American dream to see the light of the dawn. It all seems to have started in 1492, when Christopher Columbus (who is believed to have started his career on the high seas as a pirate and was in search of gold in the garb of a Christian preacher) discovered an unknown continent which was named “America” after the explorer Amerigo Vespucci. Reports of America visitors connected the impression of America with “a paradise on earth.” Since then a thoughtless, senseless, and blind pursuit of wealth and pleasure began at the cost of moral humanistic paradigm and or values that put human and humanity above all. This is very aptly illustrated in the F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby. The novel, according to a freelance writer Nadiia Kudriashova, in fact, suggests the reader to look at the American Dream from a different angle, to see its ‘back side’ leading to wreck of vain illusions.
Thus, of late there has been also a realization that American dream can, in fact, may be a nightmare, in spite of remaining at the core of U.S. or popular culture. According to some commentators, the 2000 film American Psycho “proposed that the most horrifying monster we face is the corrupted American Dreamer.” The movie is “dedicated to a warped concept of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
That is why, along with growing enthusiasm for the concept of grit, there are also growing doubts about its utility raised by scholars and educators. In the long run, people, trying to achieve what they perceive to be a great accomplishment, can have higher levels of negative emotions, anxiety, restlessness, stress, and bouts of depression. According to study, when people feel insecure in their social environments, it can lead them to focus on a hierarchical view of themselves and others, with a fear of rejection if they feel they have become too inferior or subordinate. This may increase vulnerability to depression, anxiety and stress.
Below are the real life examples of these horribly negative consequences of this so called trait championed by the proponents of “the most cherished dream”:
Writing in the ALJazeera, a columnist Belen Fernandez explains her ordeal in these words: “When I was in high school in Texas in the late 1990s, running myself ragged with academic and extracurricular activities, I began suffering from acute panic attacks. The first round lasted for six months, during which I experienced continuous shortness of breath, a berserk heart rate and the feeling that I had been wrenched out of reality and placed in a parallel and terrifying universe, where I was entirely alone and where no one would help me.”
Similarly, Yasuko Namba, a 47-year-old Japanese climber who became the oldest woman to summit the tallest peak on each continent, is said to have been blinded by a whiteout during a mountaineering adventure and couldn’t make her way back to camp. Namba’s obsessive passion for Everest, ultimately, led her to lose her life alone in an icy, unforgiving place fittingly called “the death zone.”
I would like to end with the story of “Alexander the Great” (a great conqueror, who, in 13 short years had amassed the largest empire in the entire ancient world — an empire that covered 3,000 miles and died when he was nearly only 33 years old. ) and his mentor “Diogenes” who reportedly lived in a small rain barrel or a clay wine jar. There are many versions of it (as usually happens with regard to popular fables or ancient wisdom tales), however, I have tried my best to choose the one which seems to me very much simple as well as illustrative.
According to a legend, There lived a wise man in ancient Greece whose name was Diogenes. Men came from all parts of the land to see him and talk to him. Diogenes was a strange man. He said that no man needed much, and so he did not live in a house but slept in a barrel, which he rolled about from place to place. He spent his days sitting in the sun and saying wise things to those who were around him.
When Alexander the Great came to that town he went to see the wise man. He found Diogenes outside the town lying on the ground by his barrel. He was enjoying the sun.
When he saw the king he sat up and looked at Alexander. Alexander greeted him and said:
“Diogenes, I have heard a great deal about you. Is there anything I can do for you?”
“Yes,” said Diogenes, “you can step aside a little so as not to keep the sunshine from me.”
The king was very much surprised. But this answer did not make him angry. He turned to his officers with the following words:
“Say what you like, but if I were not Alexander, I should like to be Diogenes.”
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References:
i) https://theconversation.com/whats-behind-americas-insistence-on-instilling-grit-in-kids-65314
ii) https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-limits-of-grit
iii) https://www.npr.org/2012/05/30/152672803/with-the-american-dream-comes-the-nightmare
iv) https://www.grin.com/document/462333
v) https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/10/10/mental-health-day-us-capitalism-is-bad-for-your-mind
vi) https://www.carolinemiller.com/behaviors-in-everest-stupid-grit-or-authentic-grit/
